FOR SALE NEUMAN SX 68 CUTTING HEAD

[sahib]

This may come across a bit strange as a first post. Therefore I thought it would be appropriate to do a short introduction of myself.

I do not do vinyl cutting. Based in Glasgow, UK, I am involved in pro-audio design and manufacture (http://www.totalaudiocontrol.com) and I occasionally do servicing too. I am a regular at GroupDIY where another member (Paul Gold) directed me to this forum. I have contacted Steve and he kindly allowed me in.

The SX 68 is from my own private collection. I acquired it from a very close friend a few years back in exchange for some audio equipment. He also is not involved in vinyl cutting (but a very keen audio enthusiast), therefore I can't say that the item has come from a working environment. However, it is cosmetically in pretty good condition and I have carried out a basic test as per the specifications I was given by Paul.

With my middle of the road DMM the drive coil DCRs measure 6 Ohm and feedback coils measure 90 Ohm.

However, on my Fluke-Philips PM 6304 LCR Meter the impedances at 1kHz are as follows;

Drive Coil / Right: 8.838 Ohm
Drive Coil / Left : 8.821 Ohm

Feedback Coil / Right: 88.35 Ohm
Feedback Coil / Left : 89.31 Ohm

I do not intend to parade a price here as you folks know the going rate much better than anybody else. Therefore if there is an interest please contact me at info@totalaudiocontrol.com and I would happily discuss a mutually satisfactory figure. I would rather this goes to somebody who would make a good use of it.

The head comes in its original box with complete fittings. Basically what you see in the below pictures are what you get. I have also given links to high resolution images where you can zoom in for closer inspection.

Many thanks in advance.










High resolution images;

http://www.robotica.co.uk/tac/NeumanSX68_01.jpg
http://www.robotica.co.uk/tac/NeumanSX68_02.jpg
http://www.robotica.co.uk/tac/NeumanSX68_03.jpg
http://www.robotica.co.uk/tac/NeumanSX68_04.jpg
http://www.robotica.co.uk/tac/NeumanSX68_05.jpg
http://www.robotica.co.uk/tac/NeumanSX68_06.jpg
http://www.robotica.co.uk/tac/NeumanSX68_07.jpg
http://www.robotica.co.uk/tac/NeumanSX68_08.jpg

[ROLANDJAYS]

If the outside is rusty I wonder what the inside looks like

[opcode66]

Yes. And drive coils should measure 4.7 ohm dc resistance...

[gengy]

.....rotten......

[sahib]

Yes. And drive coils should measure 4.7 ohm dc resistance...

Strangely enough on the moving coil meter that is exactly what the DCR was. However, on the (cheap) DMM it measured 6 ohm on 2K setting. This is probably because of the resolution but as I was told it would be around 6 ohm I took this value as the base. However, to be more precise I provided the impedances at 1kHz and the equipment I used is not a cheap toy.

As for the other comments, you are certainly entitled to your own.

[opcode66]

Other sx heads we've seen recently that captured a high price were in much better condition. That is not opinion, but fact. This head will require some work before use. Also fact. I hope you are considering all of that. Expecting to fetch 10k for this would be unrealistic.

[Aussie0zborn]

$10K ??? The last SX74 sold on Ebay sold for 5K. And that was from Mr Grundy's collection, fully serviced and with test report from Mr Muth.

So why would the earlier SX68
model sell for 10K ???

[gengy]

I do not intend to parade a price here as you folks know the going rate much better than anybody else.

Sahib didn't ask for that price......

[opcode66]

The point I was tying to convey is simply this. "Going price" does not apply to this head. It obviously need a little attention. Heads we've seen go for 5k or more have been in much finer condition.

There have been eBay sales of SX heads for 8K... I pulled 10k out of thin air as the absolute most someone would likely pay for a new old stock head (if one could ever find such a thing).

[chaosbc]

Don't hit around the bush, say at least approximately how much you do expect. (so I will know I cannot afford it and stop thinking about it )

[sahib]

.... "Going price" does not apply to this head.....
.

Who says that?

Going price is a going price whether it is $1 or $10,000. You value it at X and somebody else comes along and values at Y. Whatever price that it goes at sets the precedence and becomes the going rate.

With all due respect I am somehow disappointed by the hostility I received from some. I have not come here to flog a dead donkey. I have e-mailed to Steve and clearly explained my intention to list the item and he kindly allowed me in. I genuinely have no intention of parading a price. I am sure some of those who have already e-mailed me will tell you that I have already had two offers both of which are sufficiently high for me and I am not asking others if they can beat it. That is not my style. It is not how I trade. I have told the remaining interested parties that if these two offers do not materialise then I will ask them to tell me what they are prepared to pay for it. I may or I may not sell it.

In terms of the current two offers there is a significant gap between them. But I never told the person with the lower offer if he can beat the higher one. I suggested a price which is again significantly lower than the higher offer. I told him that if the higher offer does not materialise then I'll shake hands with him. For some reason if he pulls out then I will approach the other interested parties.

As a seller I obviously would like get the highest price. That's just natural. Wouldn't you like somebody coming along and throwing a $20K bundle on the table to cut his/her record? But that should not give anybody the right to think that I somehow came here with the hope of hitting gold. I know very well that there is a better chance of flying to the moon in pyjamas then this head fetching to $10K. I hope this clears the air.

Now, in terms of the external look of the head I can assure you that I could have polished it like an apple on a market stall but would that change your perception of what's inside? Indeed there is a bit of a corrosion. The rest will wipe off using a cotton bud. But the head has not been opened and kept in a completely dry place. The coils measure good and the head has not been opened before as it would be evident from the pictures. So, in my view that's a good start.

You all have a great Christmas and a Happy New Year.

[gold]

Now, in terms of the external look of the head I can assure you that I could have polished it like an apple on a market stall but would that change your perception of what's inside? .

Sahib is active on Group DIY and very generous with his time and knowledge. He does model making/prototyping professionally. He is very good. He could do way better than Joanna if he wanted to. He has tried to represent what he has as accurately as possible. I don't see what the problem is.

[opcode66]

Ok Paul, its such a great deal, buy it.

I'm doing way better than JP. I've been at it 4 months.

Perspective.

[gold]

Perspective.

Reading comprehension.

[opcode66]

We both know if it looks like that on the outside, it looks like that on the inside. Run high frequency though it and you're probably going to hear some resonation from all the bits of corrosion coming loose. If you feel this head requires no maintenance, I cant agree.

[gold]

He wants to sell it. Make an offer or don't.

[opcode66]

This is not a forum for discussion? Enlightenment even?

[gold]

The head is made out of aluminum. How could there be rust? It's oil residue.

[tubefan]

So... ignoring the part of this thread involving the going rate of cutterheads and their condition...

The original poster had an interesting measurement, which was the impedance of the head coils at 1kHz. The Neumann head resonance is at 1kHz, so in fact the impedance rises there. I would have expected more rise from the DCR measurement, but I should try it myself. It makes sense that it won't match the DCR measurement, and that it will be higher.

I see that the PM6304 measures from 50 Hz through 100kHz. You could try 50Hz and 10kHz to compare to the 1kHz measurement. But the replies were comparing DCR...

Re: rust, the pole pieces are steel, but are plated, so as long as the plating doesn't corrode through, the plating corrosion is usually thin. I'm not sure why one of the ceramic sheaths on the drive rods is discolored, maybe it's from cigarette tar, or oil. (hopefully no oil in the head mechanism).

I would assume that everyone would make private offers based on a head in unknown functional condition. It at least looks repairable, if it is not working. I've encountered a head recently with non-original screws and one mismatched feedback magnet.

[sahib]

This is not a forum for discussion? Enlightenment even?

OK. Let me enlighten you.

But before I do, let me tell you that you sound like a person who would pick a fight in an empty room to me. You just come up with some numbers and start to fight with your own shadow. What is your problem?

Have you ever though that things actually look different in photographs unless 100% colour balanced? If the contrast is also not balanced the highlights will come out stronger. In our case the dirt build up on the surface. There is no steam engine oil on this thing. It was used in the days when smoking indoors was not an issue.

However, since you started this campaign of rubbishing this head I had a closer look at it now and decided to give it a bit of cleaning. I should have done this before but that also shows that I was not trying to flog a shinny apple here.

There can not be any rust as Paul said the main body is made of aluminium. All the colouring you see actually is nothing than a usual layer of dirt build up. I have now wiped it off completely using cotton buds without even any chemicals like alcohol. The whole external surfaces are now as clean as it gets.

I do not know the terminology for the individual parts but the inverted V shaped metal at the back that is coupled to the stylus shaft is not rusted. In contrary it has a copper plating like surface finishing. I checked that with a magnifier.

Stylus shaft has a bit of wear and tear on its surface on the tip due to regular use. But no such thing as rust.

I have also checked the drive rods under a magnifier. They do not have any rust on them. However, they do have discolouring but I would imagine this this would be due to heat transfer and normal.

The Black shells again had a bit of dust on them, nothing else and again are now cleaned using cotton buds.

I will complete the cleaning process and then re-photograph it.

As for its performance Paul had adviced me to send it to a UK based member to get it checked. And that was even last year. So, I am not sure if I'll do that.

But to put you out of your misery, I have now already received a couple of offers close to what I was adviced of and I am developing it with one interested party. If/when the sale is concluded then the party may or may not disclose the purchase price.

Thank you all.